Aditya, India’s first solar boat won the Gustave Trouvé Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and in the category of ‘ferries designed for paid passenger service’.
Aditya is capable of seating 75 passengers. Aditya was built by Kochi-based Navalt Solar and Electric Boats in 2017 for the Kerala State Water Transport Department (SWTD), since then It has been commuting on the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route.
Sandith Thandasherry, founder CEO of Navalt says “Aditya’s main attraction is its low operational cost. It needs just ₹180 per day as energy cost, in comparison to over ₹8,000 required for a diesel ferry. It has already achieved break-even. It has transported more than 11 lakh passengers over 70,000 km and saved SWTD over 1 lakh litres of diesel worth approximately ₹75 lakh. “
Aditya, which costs ₹2 crores, It is considered to be a game-changer in India’s solar-powered boat sector.
